Florida completes massive wetland restoration, removing hundreds of miles of roads and canals

The Picayune Strand Restoration Project in Southwest Florida has finished, re-establishing natural water flow across 55,000 acres after eliminating over 260 miles of roads and plugging nearly 50 miles of canals.

Southwest Florida’s Picayune Strand Restoration Project, a key component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, has reached completion, restoring natural water movement across a 55,000-acre wetland corridor between Alligator Alley and Tamiami Trail. The undertaking removed more than 260 miles of roads, over 60 miles of logging tram roads and sealed nearly 50 miles of canals, while constructing three pump stations to manage flow.

The changes are expected to enhance water quality, increase aquifer recharge, and provide better habitat for fish, wildlife and the Florida panther. Benefits should extend to Collier Seminole State Park, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. State officials credited Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Legislature and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the project’s success. The completion follows other milestones in Everglades restoration, including the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project and new pump stations in Palm Beach and Hendry counties.